Studies in rats have shown that acupuncture can significantly reduce the levels of the neurotransmitter secreted by the body under stress, the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine reads.
Although traditional Chinese acupuncture has long been believed to relieve stress, and the World Health Organization recognizes it as an adjunct therapy to the treatment of 50 various disorders and ailments, researchers emphasize that this effect has not been scientifically confirmed so far.
Dr. Ladan Eshevari of Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) decided to investigate the effect of acupuncture on the levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the blood of laboratory rats. It is a neurotransmitter produced by the sympathetic nervous system.
NPY is involved in the body’s response to severe stress, which is associated with an increased flow of blood to the heart, lungs and brain, i.e. organs that play a key role when confronted with a threat. Chronic stress, however, can contribute to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
As soon as the rats got used to the presence of scientists, Dr. Eshevari applied electroacupuncture to them, during which painless electrical stimuli pass through the needle. The treatment focused on ST 36 (Zuslanli), which is located below the knee, and its stimulation helps, among others, relieve stress.
This form of treatment is slightly more intense than traditional acupuncture and is often used in patients experiencing pain. I used electroacupuncture because in this way I could be sure that each of the rats was receiving the same dose – says the researcher.
During the two-week experiment, scientists analyzed three groups of rodents that had elevated levels of stress as a result of exposure to low temperatures for one hour a day. The first was acupuncturized, the second received placebo acupuncture, and the third had no surgery at all.
When compared with the control group that had no contact with stressors, it turned out that the levels of neuropeptide Y in the rats that were subjected to acupuncture dropped to almost normal levels, while in the other groups the concentration of NPY was still high.
After the end of the procedures, the rats were exposed to the stressor for the next four days, but NPY levels remained low, which, according to the researchers, suggests that acupuncture may also protect against further negative effects of stress.
Researchers hope that human trials will produce similar results. Then acupuncture would become a proven type of therapy for chronic stress that is often difficult to eliminate.